What is Home Without These Streets I Know?
by NOTRandy
Summary: Back to a town with many memories behind it, the mysterious figure is less than enthralled by the idea of coming here. Alternate universe where a nuclear winter takes over some time after Max leaves Arcadia Bay, the fiction starts some time before the events of the first game. Also contains an intertwined original story and characters.
1. CHAPTER ZERO: THE BREATHLESS WIND

**Author's Note: Hey, hi.**

 **So, this is kind of new to me.**

 **As a heads-up, anything you see is subject to change. This is my first fan fiction, and any sort of feedback is very much appreciated for the betterment of my writing and the writing of this fic.**

 **I will keep writing this, but whether I post more or not is somewhat up to how its received.**

 _ **And by that I mean if literally anybody wants more, I'll post more.**_

 **Thanks for taking the time to read _this_ and hopefully the rest of this fiction. **

**Please enjoy.**

* * *

 ** _`~ CHAPTER ZERO: THE BREATHLESS WIND_**

* * *

 _Late September, I think. I know it's twenty-twelve, still._

The words rang in the figure's mind, as it approached an abandoned gas station at the foot of a hill covered in snow.

Confident strides, the rifle held in both hands swayed left to right, as if a pendulum. With shoddy white netting wrapped around the barrel, the brown and worn body of the rifle was standing out, especially up against the slick white coat front of its wielder. The wielder, face concealed behind a pair of ski goggles, had a scarf up to their nose, thick beanie atop their head with hair tucked away, a pair of cargo pants and a long coat; to say they were prepared for the weather would be an understatement.

As of late, the nearby area, and just about the rest of the world, had been in what you could theoretically call a nuclear winter. For you see, it wasn't just the great US of A in this predicament. Due to the nuclear war that suddenly erupted out in the middle of Europe, everyone was doomed to suffer the same fate as the ones who started all of this.

One of the mentioned bombs landed on the East Coast of the US, to the luck of many on the West Coast. What lays after a certain point is unknown, due to radiation taking its toll on the other side. The size of the bomb, however was very much debatable, due to how far it spread.

It was quite the saddening thought.

It wasn't long before the figure approached the door of the station, in a careful stance, only to regain its posture after making sure all was clear from where they were standing. A glance at the door revealed a rusty padlock, its almost rusted off red paint staring back.

A few strikes with the butt of the rifle at the padlock as it was frozen in time was all it took to void it of its use. A few steps in, the figure shakes off all the snow atop their shoulders.

 _Could have gone through the window but,_ the figure shrugs to itself, _needless noise_.

In a few swift movements, the rifle was slung onto their shoulder and a knife showed its face from its holster on the inside of the coat. Center of gravity lowered, the figure sifted through the station, looking for anyone and anything, knife still ready to spring in their palm.

At this point in time, scavenging was not a rare sight. Then again, neither was murder.

To no surprise, the station yielded very little, a barely not-expired candy bar and some duct tape. The lofty messenger bag sat situated at the figures side was with a few swift movements used to store the two items and the station stood empty soon after.

At the end of a wall of the gas station, the figure looks out, leaning on it slightly.

 _Winter sure has taken its toll. But it looks much more peaceful than when people frequented the area_.

The road in front of the gas station was completely snowed over, showing only a very faint trail of tracks leading up, past the hill. The gas station itself was in a clearing right before the aforementioned hill, only for the trees to later envelope the road as it goes up and over.

The figure regains balance and stands in a brooding fashion when it spots a wolf. A light grey, barely sticking out from the snow behind it, only its piercing eyes to aid in spotting it, it looked towards the station, standing there, observing what had become its territory, only to turn back and walk away from the treeline.

A sigh of relief and a head on a swivel, the figure set out soon after the wolf had departed. Doesn't make sense sticking around after that.

The snow makes it dreadfully hard to keep your tracks covered, but luckily, the steady snowfall helps.

A moment or two later, the figure now stood at the top of the hill. To the left, a sign. Seems like the better part of it has been cut or taken out by something, the rest obscured.

"..ME TO"

"..A BAY", whats left of the sign read.

The figure didn't seem to need it, as the confident strides kept at their pace towards the town, the steps seemingly faster than before.

* * *

The embers of a fire ebbed in the air, like flies around a rotting carcass.

The crackling of the fire was all you could hear through out the night, as a group of two sat around a campfire situated in an abandoned apartment complex that was still under construction. The two sat on small seats made of loose brick. Around them, a few bags were situated. Camping out in an unfinished building didn't sound like a good idea, but it had sufficed.

The two of them were tattered and restless, while one seemed nervous, glancing behind his shoulder every so often, towards the main stairs leading up and down each floor.

The other spoke up in a mild tone; "Josh, calm the hell down, you're making me nervous by being nervous. Nothing's gonna happen, were safe for now."

The ma- _ahem_ ,Josh looked around once more, his gaze occasionally glancing at his travelling companion, before replying: "You d-don't know that for sure.. You can never know. I-I don't wanna die tonight, okay?" He looked around again, clutching at his shoulders, his right knee bobbing up and down frantically.

"Look, all I'm saying is you need to tone it down a little, okay?" the other replied while placing an opened can of beans on the makeshift grill on top of the fire.

After a while, Josh speaks up. "I-I'm gonna get up a bit." The more feeble framed of the two, he starts getting up. His companion shrugs.

A few steps away, the man, seemingly in his early 20's takes a cigarette out of the battered container he procured from his pockets, along with a lighter.

Once, twice, he tries to spark the lighter. Nothing. A third time, still nothing. He throws the lighter off the edge, tapping his foot. After a thought or two with his hand up to his chin, he heads back to his companion, slumping his shoulders as he treads towards him.

"Hey." he starts to call out. "D-Do you have your lighter sti-" is all he could mouth as an arrow finds its way into the neck of the man seated at the fire. Eyes as wide as the moon, he takes a step back, only for the heel of someones foot to connect with the back of his left knee, forcing him downwards. A hand had caught his shoulder when this all started, so he falls to his knees rather than on his stomach.

Before much retaliation could be allowed, a knife caused his breathing to hitch, only for the breath to be replaced with blood. With disbelief, he reaches for his neck, only to come back with blood on his finger tips.

He didn't last long after.

Situated above him, a tall boy with blonde hair stood, cleaning the knife he used mere seconds ago. Another shadow approached from nearby, a girl, blonde haired and careful in her steps, almost mimicking a fox in its prowl, she held a bow, with two fingers set at the tip of the holster on her side. Soon after, she slung the bow onto herself and continued at a normal pace. The man turned around and gestured towards the fire with his head.

"Good shot." he started "You're getting better and better." A smile formed under his face cover, making it rise with his cheekbones.

The girl waves it away, "Nothing special." She stands roughly in between the two bodies as she glances at their handy work.

"Tsk. Poor bastards, didn't stand a chance."

The boy shrugs, "Couldn't have made it more obvious if they tried." He mulled his words over "If you ask me, they either wanted to die, or they were stupid beyond words."

"Or they were just scared, not thinking straight." the woman points to her temple with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"Well, the one with an arrow through his throat," he absently pointed, "was confident," he points to his feet, "This guy, on the other hand wasn't very. They both ended the same way," he finishes with a shrug.

With the finishing of that sentence, he walked over to their bags.

Lifting one of the bags to inspect, he finds pretty much what you'd expect; Some clothes, some food, a hunting knife and a weathered picture of one of the two with a woman at what seemed like an amusement park, hugging each other with one hand and prizes or food in the other.

A shake of the head and a sigh is all it took for the picture to depart the boy's hand and land in the fire. The girl stood watch, her eyes on high alert as her accomplice sifted through the recently deceased parties' belongings. Anything useful stuffed in a duffel, the boy puts out the fire before heading towards the main stairs, tapping his partners shoulder as he went past. She followed soon after.

They both raise their hoods in unison as their feet land in the soft evening snow, as they fell from the small drop. The area around them wasn't any less in reckless abandon than the complex they were just in, it seemed like a worse part of whatever, or wherever they found themselves.

Shrouded in pitch black, the moon and the stars provided what little illumination there was to be had. They had started treading in a certain direction, but it was hard to make anything out in the moon light.

Their eyes are yet to adjust.

* * *

The white feature-obscured figure from before had made its way further towards the town it was approaching. Before passing a wrecked RV with a drab off-white paint job, it stopped in its tracks, looking over what was left of the vehicle. Passing it after taking in the sight, it stuck its hand out, tracing across the wide side of it, head bowed down.

Moving further into the town, whilst passing a junkyard, the figure looked away. **"American Rust",** a sign with letters that barely clung to their backdrop read.

Stopping at the sight of footprints in the road, the bundle of coats froze for a bit, only to walk over to the prints and lower to one knee with the purpose of inspecting the steps in the snow: a hand floated above them, a few fingers left to dangle above.

 _Fresh. About a few hours, give or take._

Two pairs of the steps, one of which was longer and slightly wider footed, followed somewhat close by another one, probably belonging to a smaller frame. Looking forward to where the tracks lead, the individual winces lightly.

Kneeling still, it takes a bit to mull over whether following them is really worth it. Deciding to head there anyways, with plenty of hesitation, the masked mystery stood up again and started walking, following the tracks somewhat closely.

A few minutes of walking further, it had seemed like the other part of town is where the prints led. The scene beheld was one of struggle; as if someone was attacked in the middle of the night, or just outright attacked in hand-to-hand. Struggling and tossing around etched in the snow, followed closely by blood.

The body of a man, older, in his 40's, maybe, stood motionless and nearly frozen through and through, with a bullet hole in his forehead. The point-forty-four sized hole saw all the way through his skull. Another path of blood revealed a body in what seemed like a crashed-through store front of a coffee shop.

Its back against the customer facing part of the counter, the other body held its hand across its stomach, clutching at the left arm.

Kneeling at the body revealed the right hand to be hiding a bloodied bite mark, seemingly human.

 _What the fuck?_

The weary soul recoiled in fear, raising its hands to chest level, only to calm down with a few deep breaths and a look around, after which further inspection continued.

This head contained another bullet hole, similar in caliber like the one before. The culprit sat idly next to the victim, dropped there by someone else. It wasn't suicide, obviously, but all things considered, does it matter much?

The eyes of the body were still open. The newfound investigator took the head with both hands, slowly lifting it up to eye level, only to find the eyes bloodshot, nearly completely devoid of any color past the red of blood. Head soon left alone, the only witness to the crime was the .44 revolver sat on the shop floor. Picking it up, in one nudge at the cylinder, the figure counted its ammo.

 _Old class revolver, Smith and Wesson, maybe '89, three rounds in the cylinder._

A flick of the revolver caused the cylinder to fly shut, only for it to be stowed into the mess of winter clothes. Steps back towards the original body were caused by the previous realization, the same one cast a spell on the mountain of clothes; center of gravity was once again low, steps are careful and head on high alert, obviously scared of whatever that discovery was.

A further inspection revealed similar symptoms, only this one was found with blood and skin alien to the host body in the mouth. With a shake of the head, the winter private detective decided to explore more.

As it turns out, a school bus found its way into the forefront of the store. The front was covered in rubble and debris, all the behind-the-counter contents spilled forward, presumably in the impact.

The backdoor of the bus was open, perhaps forcefully. A few steps in, and a small gasp could be heard.

It was cleverly made into a makeshift shelter, with the front door leading into a back room behind the counter of the shop. As that was the only entrance to that room, it was easy to secure and protect. Besides the great job done for shelter, it was obviously inhabited by someone.. young.

Drawings of a pair of people, a house with a family, some dogs or cats, amongst other things, were strewn about a dark corner in the even darker room. Two sleeping bags sat close in one part of the room, opposite to the drawing corner. A stash of sorts, albeit small, was ransacked nonetheless, only a small duffel sticking out from behind one of the untouched boxes close to the stash.

Managing to pull out the duffel, the scavenger went through its contents, only to find a flashlight, some letters, more pictures, some matches, two bottles of water and a screwdriver, bloodied tip and all.

Noticing it was dark enough for the flashlight to prove useful, the scavenger flicked it on. Nothing that could not be deduced before, except for an integral part of the backdrop. The corpse of a small, brown haired girl hunched in the corner made the shape wince at the sight, averting the flashlight slowly, only to bring it back.

The vagabond stood, frozen in fear. Seemingly, had it been another body, it would have posed no problem. But the jaw length, chestnut colored bob cut seemed to have instilled fear in the veins. A slow walk, approaching the figure made her nearly double over.

A tug at corpse's shoulder made the frozen sculpture slump its own in relief, its hands instantly regressed back, only to return the body to its original position, kneeling close and staying silent while kneeling for a moment, head bowed down, similar to a prayer.

A few steps and out the door the masked investigator came, squinting high at the sky to check the time, only to be startled and interrupted by the distant reverb of a gunshot, followed closely after by a murder of crows flying off.

Ducking instantly and getting to the nearest wall or cover, the clothed shape looked around, only to establish that the gun shot was far away, clutching the rifle harder than during the investigation.

The decision to inspect might not be smart, yet somehow it was compelling.

* * *

The pair walked in bounding formation with their head on a swivel, only to return to normal once they were far enough away from the site of their little assault deep in the city.

They found themselves on a highway, followed by the coast somewhat closely.

"Who do you think that was in the picture?" the girl procured carefully.

A shrug was followed up by "Seemed like a girlfriend, why?"

"Don't know.. Lately I've been getting these thoughts after we'd kill someone and find personal shit like that."

"Its not often that it happens, for all its worth, so at least you don't have to have those thoughts constantly," he looked at her as they walked, only to continue, "These days, the past doesn't matter all that much. All you need to survive is the present."

A sad look befalls her face as she stares downwards, not meeting his eyes. The walk continues in silence.

The boy seemed to start getting increasingly uneasy as they passed through the streets.

"Do you feel like... Something's watching us?" he said in a tone just above a whisper.

The girl looked around, slowly, with a concerned look. "Doesn't seem to be anything out there that I can see." she said whilst still keeping on high alert.

A few slowed steps and some time of looking around, they decide it was nothing, only to continue the usual pace.

"Seattle, right? That's where we're headed, last I checked." the boy spoke up.

A nod was followed closely by "We have a contract to do over there, maybe we can get some pickings along the way." The sentence was enveloped in a sullen tone.

A sudden stop in steps, the girl dragged the boy back by the shoulder, immediately pulling him to duck down with her.

The boy shot a confused and questioning glance at his partner, only to see the distressed look in her face. A quick look forwards revealed a group of people, shambling, looking nowhere in particular, and directly behind them, an armed group. They mowed each shambling figure down one by one.

The girl gasped and clutched at her mouth, as her companion stood there, his gaze unbelieving. They quickly hid away in a moat on the side of the road, only to look at each other in confusion.

The boy's gaze now adamant, he signaled for his partner to stay silent, after which he took her wrist and led her down the moat towards the shooting, occasionally keeping eyes on the group of people.

They got somewhat closer before they took another look.

A group of five, they all wore similar things, varying only in color; ski pants, military rigs over snow parka, hood up and gas-masked. Some shades were different, some just different colors. None of them were, luckily, hard to miss.

His grip released as he signaled towards himself, looking back to get a confirmation. A nod is all it takes for the two to start heading upwards, towards a hill and trees, seemingly hoping to avoid them completely.

Now in the trees, they look down to see the group from before patrol down the highway. The sigh of relief was almost perfectly unanimous. They fail to notice the lack of one in the group as it kept strolling past.

Soon, they come to notice that mistake of theirs with the whizzing sound of a 7.62 fly into the tree near the head of the boy, putting him in a slight daze, his ears ringing, as both of them run for cover.

One of the figures from before, on the highway, had made his way up to them and came hunting. After ducking from more shots, the daze was shaken off and a glance was exchanged, followed by a nod.

The smaller of the two sprinted between covers, eliciting a shot from the masked person in her general direction. The male sprung out of cover, inching closer and closer to the shooter with each tree. With his attention away from him, the boy crept closer with every one. Both of them were hiding by the time the armed man looked around for the other of the two.

"Quit hiding, you dirtbags!" his voice was rough and accented; you could place it in the South of the USA.

The short haired of the two couldn't help but smile, as the impact of his shoulder to the assailants back was more than enough to sprout one. He angled his fist and landed a punch to the back of his head, causing his weapon to drop.

As he was kept pinned, the girl arose from cover, smile of her own drawn on her lips, shoved the 6 inch blade procured from a fore-arm holster into the assaulter's stomach once, after which he was released temporarily. He stumbled back, grasping at the stab wound.

"You little bi-" was all he could mouth before the inside of his throat felt the cold wind and saw the night sky.

His shoulders slumped and he fell to his knees, possibly drowning in a pool of his own blood.

"Well played." he said, dusting his hands.

"Likewise. Lets grab anything off him and leave fast."

"Don't have to tell me twice." he said as he lunged down to pick the body clean of anything of use.

* * *

Approaching the area from where the sound of the shot ebbed as it lead further into the forest, a shallow and faint stack of smoke could be seen.

 _A fire was snuffed out here, a while ago._

The campfire was slightly offcentre in this circled clearing that was completely surrounded by trees, a bit close to two tents, one of which looked trampled. Seemed like a camp that was abandoned in a hurry. It was hard to see any signs of life. Our masked protagonist carefully walked along the edges of the cover of trees, actively looking to spot anything, anything to show an all clear.

It was a while before taking the steps inward was deemed safe enough. The clearing appeared flat, which was not the case. The outsides were banked downwards towards the center, which caused the mound of clothes to almost slip, only to regain balance soon after.

Exploring the camp yielded something, but not much of use. A book, 'October Country' by Ray Bradbury, some hair ties, a crumpled post-it note, pertaining to nothing in particular, seemed like a date and/or time, some energy bar wrappers and a broken string of something, possibly a guitar.

Leaving the contents alone in a similar state as they were found, the lingering feeling of being watched was present. The investigative character tensed up lightly at the feeling, only to notice something in the corner of its eye.

A wolf stood somewhat far off, the same one as before, idly and vacantly starting towards, and quite possibly through.

Tearing its sight in the opposite direction of the wolf to more pressing matters, a rustling sound of leaves being cleared in a path could be heard. Ducking behind the tent quickly, the body sought better cover, only to find it in the arising trees. Ducking low and taking a knee, steadying its breath, the figure cocked its ears, ready to hear exactly who they were intruding on. Light steps, were followed by a huff and a drop of what sounded like a bag.

The steps continued shortly, only for them to tense up and stop. _The prints. Whoever is in the camp must have saw the prints._ Getting ready for a fight was cut short by the swinging noise of a large branch that our protagonist managed to swiftly dodge.

A knife was procured from the inside of their coat and was swung at the branch-wielding shadow. A dodge backwards, both of the compositions faced each other as if in a standoff.

The mountain of clothes found itself facing a woman, shorter by a head, approximately, with a hood up and a scarf over the nose, leaving the tense and angry blue eyes out for the world to see.

A grey hoodie with a black vest with its sleeves raised to the elbow and denim jeans, followed by a pair of boots.

"The fuck do you want from me?!" the blue eyed assailant exclaimed in a distressed tone. Her opponent recoiled slightly, only to start replying, before having to clear its throat.

"Nothing, I thought this camp was abandoned." it retorted, holding a knife close for defense.

"Well it isn't! Now what, you kill me?!"

"No, absolutel-" was all the white-clad image said in a hardly distinguishable female voice before she was charged at with the aforementioned branch.

The forearms of one were met with the forearms of another, placed in a cross formation with the purpose to block. A broken off and sharp edge of a large branch merely inches from her face, the white wearing female kicked her opponent in the base of the stomach, sending her towards the tree, landing back first in a slight daze, dropping the weapon.

The fight wasn't long. The blue-eyed of the two was not very strong. She started grasping at the hand at her neck as the one who pinned her there started breathing louder than before.

"Well?! Fucking finish what you started!" she snarled, the clawing at the hand kept on.

The interloper froze up for a second, seemingly in realization, only to chuckle to itself, before looking back up and continuing its laughter, now harder than before.

"No, I don't- I don't think I could." it said with an audible grin.

This only made the pinned girl angrier. "Why?! That's what you're here for anyways!" she exclaimed, continuing her assault.

"Again... Don't think I could."

"Why?" the hands stopped and only held on, yet the gaze kept at its intensity and remained unfaltered. "Got some.. sick, fucking plan for me?" she shook her head to one side with a questioning tone and an equally questioning tone of voice and glance. "Gonna lock me up somewhere? Sell me to some slavers or something?"

The laughter continued even during the sentence. "No no no, nothing like that."

The voice at the other end became more defined, as the blue eyes blinked twice, thrice only for the pupils to dilate in realization.

"See, I don't see why you're so anxious on one of us getting killed."

With the end of that sentence, the character backed away releasing the smaller girl from the tree, only to start loosening the scarf that surrounded her face.

"Its been long; I have to say, not surprised you didn't recognize me." as she kept at the scarf, eventually managing to take it off, revealing a pale lower face, a smirk and white teeth behind it. "I'm just surprised I found you here of all places."

The blue eyes stared on in disbelief, the mask lightly misshapen from the mouth open behind it in disbelief, as the girl clutched to the tree.

After the scarf, the goggles came off soon after, revealing a pair of light blue eyes, starting to stare intently at the opposite pair.

"Its nice to see you too, Maxi-pad." the smirk only grew larger. "What, don't recognize me?" she said, spreading both hands away from her core with the goggles and scarf in hand, leaving the beanie on her head, with her weight shifted onto one her legs, striking a pose.

The other pair of eyes only grew wider in shock. A few more blinks and the girl tore her own scarf down, only to lunge in the arms of the other girl.

"Chloe, holy shit!" she exclaimed gleefully, her arms wrapping around the neck of her recently rediscovered friend and her nose finding her way to the crook of it, smiling from ear to ear. Chloe was thrown off balance, sticking a foot behind her to maintain what little of it was left, reciprocating the longing hug, indulging in the warmth.

"Nice to see you too, dork."


	2. CHAPTER ONE: STEEL TRYING TO BECOME WOOD

**Author's Note: Hey!**

 **So, like I said; I'll release more if literally _anyone_ wants more. Someone wanted more.**

 **Here you have it, the second chapter, a month in the making.**

 **I've also made an AO3 account where I'll be crossposting. I've also decided to make myself a schedule which I will try to stick to with all my might.**

 **I'll be posting a new chapter for this every last-of-the-month, which, considering the next month, might not be the best idea to have.**

 **Oh well.**

 **Enjoy the read!**

* * *

 _ **`~ CHAPTER ONE : STEEL TRYING TO BECOME WOOD**_

* * *

Standing in the rain as the wind howled, the boy held a cloth-wrapped object in his hand, his personal memento mori.

It served to shock him back into the harsh reality that is life, to cement the knowledge that no one is ever truly safe.

Back to the harsh reality that no one really lives happily ever after.

Even if it was already a reality he experienced many-a-time before.

He looked down slowly, his palm turning over the object as it stared up at him.

There was an empty look in his eyes, as if all he could do was think.

A reality you experience before never makes you any more prepared for whatever happens; all you know of it is that it just...does.

Before he knew it, the whistling sound of the wind was replaced by silence. His eyes were shut.

And before he knew it, his fate had struck him, quite literally.

* * *

Drenched in sweat, in a flurry of gasps, the boy shot up, waking from a daze of the night horror that held him hostage for far too long.

Looking around, he made out his surroundings, only to relax. She was there with him, on the opposite side of the dimly lit lantern, sleeping away, or so it seemed.

"Wh-," she started, rubbing her eyes as she propped herself up onto her elbows, "What's up? Is everything alright?" She asked as she stared at her companion intently.

A slow nod turned into a faster, slightly more reassuring one. "Yeah... It- Its nothing..."

Shifting to sit up, she kept her eyes on him. "Doesn't look like it to me," she said as she tilted her head at him, rubbing one of her eyes.

"Trust me, I'm fine," he said as the base of his palm met the back of his neck.

Still looking at him, the girl shifted back into a sleeping position, before sighing deeply and turning over to sleep.

The boy got up soon after, slowly, not wanting to wake up his companion.

After finally making it to Portland, finding a tall building was relatively easy. Finding an apartment in one of them that was abandoned, had a distinct lack of corpses and didn't have enough locks for a prison was not as easy. But somehow they managed.

Staring out of the balcony window, the skyline was somewhat obscured by lower buildings, nearly surrounding the bigger one they found themselves in for the night. There was not a single light to be found in the city.

The night sky, on the other hand, grew prettier and prettier by the day. Seems like the lack of active humanity is good for...well, just about everything else.

Living in another person's home is less than ideal, but it's comfier than whatever other idea they could scrape up.

Supporting himself against the frame of the window with his elbow, the boy wore basic clothing for sleep; grey shirt and running pants with socks the same shade as the rest.

Scratching the back of his neck, deep in thought, his attention was suddenly turned away from the small, snow-covered balcony in front of him onto the nearby rooftop, where a silhouette caught his eye.

It was human, that part was obvious, but anything past that was left to assumption due to the obvious lack of light. He was surprised he even made the silhouette out in the first place.

The silhouette turned, looking almost directly at him. The boy felt his heart skip a beat, only to take some comfort from the fact that he was completely enveloped in darkness himself. He straightened out, no longer leaning on to the window frame.

His eyes stared intently back at the whatever-in-the-dark. It stared back for what felt like an eternity.

As if willing to break the awkward stare, the figure looked back forwards, as it slowly fell into the open space in front of it and out of sight from the boy that stared back mere moments ago.

Silence enveloped the situation as the tension that was there before had been replaced with dread.

The boy stood there a moment, watching the where the figure had been, numb from bone to bone. Almost as if it didn't touch him. Almost.

After a moment of just standing there in disbelief, the boy walked- no, shambled would be more fitting, back to his sleeping bag, placed on top of the couch.

Staring at the ceiling, he was pretty damn sure the ceiling was staring back after a while.

He barely fell asleep.

* * *

"So-" she was instantly cut off.

"Just.. Let me have this, Chloe, please." Max said in a tone slightly above a whisper as she kept the embrace going, her hands clutching Chloe close to her.

Chloe suddenly felt how needy Max had sounded at the moment, making her worry. She decided against breaking away from the hug, instead starting to rub Max's back with her one loose hand, as if it was going to help in any way.

After a little bit, Max pulled away, letting go a few sniffles, her face still covered. Her eyes dug into Chloe, barely believing she's really here.

Chloe realizes she missed this and missed Max too much, so she decided to stare back, as if in an active attempt to make this more awkward.

Luckily for her, Max decided to break the awkwardness with a punch to Chloe's shoulder.

"Ow! What was that for?" Chloe winces and asks, despite the fact she was perfectly aware why.

"Oh, I don't know. Snooping around in my camp, maybe," Max huffed, "You had me worried sick, I thought you were some asshole out for blood," she scratched at her head through her hood, irritated.

"That would explain the bloodthirsty charge with.. A branch, of all things? Seriously," Chloe inquired with a scoff and a smirk.

Max crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one foot, "Oh, I'm sorry, Little Miss Hardened Survivor. Not everyone has a weapon," She gestures to the rifle with a nudge of her chin as she crosses her arms.

Chloe waved it off. "You can't be serious when you tell me you don't have a weapon close by; that's not being a hardened survivor, that's being an 'I-want-to-live-for-longer-than-a-day' survivor."

Max shrugged, "Don't know, managed so far without one."

"Which is a miracle in on itself," one Chloe was very much happy for.

Exhaling hard, Max retorted "Well, Chloe, you're still yourself, especially with everything going on," she raised her head as she puts down the face cover with a smile on her face, "I've missed you. Really."

Her smile was genuine, her face still littered with the ever familiar freckles of that one thirteen-year-old four years ago, but the one thing that caught Chloe's attention was the scar across the mouth.

She gawked with a sigh for a second before reacting. "Whoa! Nice battle-scar, Maxaroni," she exclaimed, maybe all too excited, but to be fair, it did look pretty cool.

Blushing slightly, she touched the scar with her fingertips, "Oh, this? Nothing special," she waves it off.

"Are you crazy? Little Max with a scar, how badass is that? I wonder what your parents thought, I'd say it looks pretty good," she procured with a nudge of her shoulder.

At the mention of parents, the twinkle in Max's eyes retracted a little into itself as she swallowed hard. Her gaze wandered to the ground.

Chloe noticed she might've struck a nerve, only making her grow even more worried than before.

"Max, everything alright?" she asked carefully with a tinge of worry.

"I- I'm fine, Che. Lets.." she shook her head, her breath hitching as she cleared her throat, as she gestured towards the town that could be seen through the trees.

They walk in silence for a bit, before Chloe decides to break it.

"So Max... Where we headed," she procured the question carefully.

"Back into town. I made a more permanent camp in one of the houses," Max started whilst walking along side Chloe, leading her into the town, "We can talk properly there."

Max stopped at the edge of the forest, where grass met asphalt as it extends into a road. Crouching down to one knee, she started looking cautiously around her and then up and down the street. Deducing it was safe, she started walking out into the street and then gestured to Chloe as they both cross.

They walk through a few neighborhoods of the Bay that Chloe manages to recognize. She knew _of_ the places but never bothered to visit or be there; she had no reason to, back when life was normal.

The walk to her shelter was spent in silence as Chloe watched Max in her own world, judging precisely how much she changed as she weaved past barriers and obstacles in her way, like a cat in the snow.

When they found themselves in a small alley way between houses, her staring was cut short as Max abruptly stopped in her tracks. Her hand out to Chloe, she stopped her from bumping into her too hard.

Snapping back to reality, she looked at her guide curiously and then in front of them, only to notice something decayed in the form of an animal, shambling aimlessly.

It looked on with ghastly dark yellow eyes, with the occasional cyst, growth or blemish decorating its sickly grey fur, its tail had almost fallen off and one of its ears had a bite through it.

Chloe's throat dried out slowly.

"I heard the stories, but I couldn't believe them... It sounded crazy," Chloe said in a whisper, hoping not to draw the attention of what was once called an animal.

They sat there for a few minutes even after _it_ had passed, expecting something to shamble in front of them at the very moment they decided to emerge. Neither of them dared to move.

Max's mask and chest raised in unison as she sighed with a shut of her eyes. She started walking forwards, slowly, making as little noise as possible in the tall, afternoon snow.

Heel-first, lowering the rest of her foot slowly in each step as the snow crunched under her, she sneaked to the corner of the alley, close to where they had noticed the walking corpse, and to their luck, all seemed clear.

Chloe felt her lungs expand again as the suspense from before evaporated slowly.

The look on Chloe's face, the wide-eyed one, the one of spotting a _mutant, or whatever those damned things were anymore,_ refused to wipe itself as they continued walking. She could have sworn people said that animals weren't in danger. _Looks like that's changed for the worst._

Max looked back only to be startled at the sight of the wide eyes behind her.

"Chloe, you alright?" Max asked, turning slightly and slowing her pace.

"I think so. I just haven't seen one of those in person before," she replied whilst scratching her scalp through her beanie.

Max gripped onto Chloe's arm, holding it reassuringly. She let go almost as quickly, with a single nod, before turning and continuing, but not before Chloe gave her a glance of her own, nodding.

They walk for the better part of the next few minutes before Chloe spoke up again, noticing something distinct.

"Hey, wasn't this my old neighborhood," she asked, "since I think my house is behind that one there," she said as she pointed in a general direction.

Max hums an affirmative answer, "Your house is a few houses past that one, we can go there later, if you'd like," Max said as she stopped and turned to Chloe to reply.

"Why not go now? We're pretty close as is," Chloe asked.

Max retorts with a shrug, followed by "I wanted to talk to my best friend somewhere comfy and less outside for the first time, in like ever. Please?"

Chloe, while hoping to stare away from the puppy eyes Max dished out with the last part of her sentence, groaned and continued following Max.

Cautiously walking for a few more minutes, they approach the back of a house, one of a faded orange color.

"So, is this where you live now?" Chloe asked, looking the two-story over with her hands on her hips after jumping a fence to get to the back yard.

Max replies affirmatively and nods as Chloe attempted to make something out through the boarded and stained glass. She approached the glass door that leads to the backyard they were in from the inside of the house and pressed her hands lightly to the glass, attempting to block the light from reflecting from the window.

Managing to spot nothing inside, Chloe inquired Max further, "Max, are you _sure_ you live here? It looks abandoned."

Max chuckles nasally, "That's precisely the point," she said as she walked towards the side of the house facing the fence between them and the neighbouring house.

Chloe looked at Max, looked at where she's headed with a confused expression.

With the same expression drawn on her face, she inched to the corner Max had gone around a moment ago, only to spot her crouching on a pile of rubble, hand on the window next to her leading into the house.

"Max," Chloe asked, confused, "What are you doing?"

Max smiled, evident by her mask raising, "What's it look like? Come on in," she said, gesturing to the window with her head as she stepped inside.

Managing to somehow step into the house, Max ruffled the bushes behind them as she stuck out of the window as Chloe dusted herself and looked around the room they found themselves in.

A look around revealed that all the windows and doors to the outside were reinforced and blockaded, with a few oil lanterns strewn about. The occasional box could be found but most, at first glance, seemed filled with junk or just empty. There was sheet-covered shape or two to be found, no doubt some furniture in need of protection.

Chloe turns to Max, " _This_ is how you live," she said, gesticulating around her with her hands.

"Duh, no silly. Follow me," Max said, pulling Chloe along with her towards the front door.

The front door, like nearly every other, was just as barricaded and reinforced, if not more. Drawing more confusion from Chloe, she started, "Damn, Max, you got this place on lockdown, huh?"

Max nods, "Uh-huh. Home-shit-home, as they say," she said whilst slowly heading up the steps to the second floor, opposite to the front door.

Chloe scoffs, "Sounds like something I would say."

As Max let go, she stood in front of the worn door, hands raised in a show-off manner.

"Ta-da," she exclaimed flatly.

"Well, this _is_ a cozy stairwell, but I don't see why you'd sleep here," Chloe said with a grin plastered on her face as she gestured around in the air with a finger.

Scoffing, Max turned to the door to unlock it after rummaging through her bag.

Two satisfying lock noises later, they found themselves inside. Max locked the door behind them.

They were in a hallway, two entrances on either side of them and another two down where the hallway extended. To the right of them, a door with more locks met them. Cables could be seen leading out from it, with an idle buzz and whirr seeping under the door. At the end of the hallway, both of the rooms were closed and between them a window sat on the wall, reinforced and covered as much as the others.

Taking down her face cover, Max walked to the doorway of one the rooms and dropped her bag at the entry.

"Come on in," she gestured to Chloe slyly, "You must be tired, weary adventurer," she said as she moved further into the room with a slight giggle.

Chloe took off her hat, stuffing it in her pocket, smiling and walking into the room.

She took a moment to look, _Lets see what little Max managed to make for herself,_ she thought as she leaned against the door frame.

Two mattresses formed a bed with pillows and blankets under a window, slightly less boarded and reinforced than the others, a bookshelf close to the bed, oddly devoid of dust and filled with books, a metal-framed storage chest, large enough to fit a Max into it and a dark grey worn armchair to fill the gap between the chest and the wall.

A set of dirty, off-white lantern lights hung from the ceiling in the room, close to hanging above the bed, plugged into an electrical extension cord that followed behind the bed and behind the bedside table, atop which sat a radio, among other things.

"Gotta say, you got a nice thing going… here," Chloe said as she looked around.

She stopped as she looked down at the rug situated under her; 'Keep Calm and Carry On'.

"Seriously," A jokingly disappointed expression befeld her as she looked at it.

Max replied as she sat on the bed, shrugging, "What, it's big and it was easy to find and carry."

Chloe shook her head, chuckling, "Once a hipster nerd, always a hipster nerd," she said, approaching the chair and falling into it with a _thump_.

After a few moments of silence of Max laying down and Chloe sitting there, Chloe decides to speak up.

"So, Maxi-pad, don't just leave me in the silence, tell me what's up," she chimed up, somewhat loudly.

"Shush, you'll wake up half of the block," Max replied in a loud whisper turned laughter, checking the small uncovered hole in her window at the same time, "I'll tell you everything, you just had to ask, not yell it."

Chloe chuckled, "Sorry, sorry, I'm just excited to see you again, _even after you went dark on me for nearly four years,"_ her voice going deadpan towards the end of the sentence.

"Okay, yeah, for the first year, maybe I'd understand your complaining," Max replied, now a little annoyed, "but I can't really reach out to you if there's nothing to reach out _with._ "

With a deep exhale, she looked to Chloe, suddenly undertaking a sullen tone, "To say it's been tough is an understatement. I've pretty much been roughing it by myself, hell, I haven't spoken _at all_ in so long," an awkward chuckle escapes Max's lips.

Chloe undertakes a bout of seriousness, _for once_ , and listens to Max speak.

"Basically, the entire story goes," Max started and said with an exasperated sigh as she cleared her face and took her hood off. Chloe noticed Max's hair, it's length and color, raised an eyebrow at the sight, yet chose to stay silent.

"After I left the Bay, we lived in Seattle for about a year, or so. The riots and everything started and really took it's toll on the area nearby, so we decided to… Move back," Max's voice progressively more silent as the sentence continued.

"We were already gone by the time the Seattle riots started kicking off, we decided to get out of the Bay for the same reason, afraid they might spread here," Chloe shook her head, disbelieving, "I'm sorry, Max, I didn't know."

Max dismissed it with her hand, "It's fine, you couldn't have known," a clear of the throat and a sniffle later, Max continues, "We managed to make it to the exit out of the city but.. The rioters barely let us through, a-and.. Something landed.. In front of the car, making us lose control."

Chloe notices Max's hands tremble and decides to move over next to Max, hugging her.

"Hey, Max, it's fine, I'm here," she said as she comforted her, "You don't have to continue if you don't have to."

"I-It's fine," Max sobers up and straightens out, returning to how she was before she started, "Dad lost c-control after that and…"

"We crashed, Chloe. They both died," she exclaimed flatly and suddenly, staring into Chloe's eyes, "I woke up after, in an alley in Seattle, bandaged up and covered in a.. In a blanket, with a note and a backpack of all things. Like it was some stupid apology to… Make up with or… I don't know."

"No idea how, or why, but I took what I got and ran back home," Max exhaled heavily, "With nothing for me over there, I escaped to here after grabbing anything I could from our home."

Chloe swallowed before she spoke, "Max, I'm so sorry… I never knew," her grip on Max's shoulder tightening in reassurance.

"You couldn't have known. There was no way for you to know," Max said, procuring a single sob and quickly wiping her tear.

Chloe sighed heavily and they sat in the silence for a while before the crackling of the radio at the bedside table stored them both.

Max slowly looked up to it, Chloe's eyes pasted to it already as it crackles to life with static and a mess of barely comprehensible vocals.

"Another settlem-...-ed ou-...-onal for-..."

Comprehension getting harder by the second, Max stood up and adjusted the antennae of the radio, "-south of Portland. So far, the entire settlement seems to have been wiped out. So far, we have a confirmation of fourteen killed."

"The encampment appears to have been ravaged by a variation of the mutated animals only seen deeper in the fog, until recently. The sighting of the mutant that was possibly the assailant, formed from a bear corpse, is one of three other mutants that have arisen in similar ways and that have wandered in from the fog," the man on the other side spoke in a slow and crestfallen voice.

Amongst the stiff silence, Chloe sat with her blood frozen.

 _That's what destroyed everything,_ she scoffs mentally in a sad tone, _That would explain the claw marks, I guess..._

Chloe must have gone pale, because Max made a realization the moment their eyes connected again.

"That was the settlement you were in, wasn't it?"

Chloe nodded slow at first, swallowing, before her nodding sped up. Max moved her mouth as if to say something but failed, looking back to the radio and back to Chloe quickly.

With a sigh, the man continued, "In other news, the unknown mercenary group recently involved in the killing of innocents has been spotted along the I-5. Scavengers are warned to stay away from them; they are a dangerous, man-hunting group of individuals. Any pending wanted contracts on known criminals in the wasteland fo-"

Max turns off the radio in a quick jump and turned to Chloe before she could mouth what she intended.

"Max, wh-"

"Shh."

Chloe looked on in confusion as Max's eyes turn focused and aware, her hand slowly leaving Chloe's mouth. Max moved to a boarded up window, gently moving a piece, granting her sight.

The way Max's eyes shot wide after a moment of searching in almost-desperation turned Chloe's stomach upside down. She could only look in horror as Max was the only recipient of whatever view was on the other side.

Max moved away somewhat in a hurry, wearing the same stricken gaze on her eyes as the moment before. Chloe, hesitating in her movements, almost contemplating if seeing whatever it was was worth it, yet she eventually decided to look.

What she found at the other side was certainly worth Max's reaction. Her eyes fell to a sickly, grey humanoid figure, nearly six feet in height, with similar skin quality as the before-seen animal, located on a far-away street, dragging a body by the arm with one of its own... Many arms.. Or tentacles? Chloe wasn't sure.

A few moments passed and it stood in the middle of the street. With what almost could be described as joy, it tore into a body. It struck Chloe that the body it was tearing into was somewhat familiar and she placed it as the body she inspected some time ago.

The hairs on her back stood up as she felt almost sick but enraptured by the display of gore. Those same hairs stood as the pit in her stomach deepened the more she looked. At one point, the creature stopped its long and skinny appendages, stopping it's feast and held what was left of the body up in the air.

It moved its head slowly and Chloe didn't want to see where it looked. She darted from the hole and the pit deepened as her breath hurried and eyes darted frantically for Max, only to find her seated on the floor, leaned onto the bed, her head in her hands.

They both stood in complete silence, Chloe on the floor with her back to the wall and Max with her back against the bed. Max frantically blinked around as her eyes darted along the room, unsure of what she just saw. Her friend stared down at the floor, biting down on her hand in hopes of calming her breath.

Feeling like forever had past, Chloe slid the piece in the window where it stood before, her hands moving slowly and surely. With that done, she looked to Max in hope, only to be greeted by her piping up in a stage whisper.

"What was that thing," she asked in a throat-constricted tone.

"I have no idea. That was _hella_ fucking terrifying," Chloe replied as she hugged her elbows close.

After a few tension-strung moments of silence, as if expecting something, Max was the first to relax. With a shaky exhale, she took her palm to her face and rubbed her eyes and forehead in tensed relaxation.

"See how nice this neighborhood is," she told Chloe, with a small smile drawing out slowly and barely, accompanied with a shake of her head.

Chloe donned a thousand mile stare up until the point of snapping back with Max's words, and with a shake of her own head, she blinked and looked to her, chuckling before retorting, "Great so far, neighbors seem friendly."

With a few exchanges with her best friend, Chloe felt more at home in a few moments than in a year or so at a camp with a bunch of people she never knew, or never cared to meet. With that thought, she somehow managed to push out whatever it was she had seen moments ago for a second, but not before it made it's own entrance again.

Chloe exhaled hard with her eyes shut and got up. Brushing off, she placed herself back in the chair adjacent, her brows furrowing and gaze slowly returning to normal, as normal as she could muster at the time, what with the storm of thoughts going on in her head.

Rising soon after, Max headed for the radio first, turning it on but adjusting the volume and laying back down. Before she could mouth anything, a _thud_ could be heard from outside. Chloe and Max stiffened up, looking at each other.

Some peeking to the outside later, they deduced that whatever it was couldn't be seen from here and decide to take it upon themselves to investigate, much to the hesitancy of the both of them. No one _wants_ to go outside after spotting what they did.

"Max, this is a terrible idea," Chloe stage-whispered to Max as they ducked around the house and back into an alleyway.

"Why are you out here then?"

Chloe opens her mouth to speak but stops. Not out of lack of thing to say, no, she had quite the retort to that. It's just… Kind of hard to speak or remember what you planned on saying earlier when you're staring at the same dead body you saw get lugged around by a horrifying mutant.

The same one that was now mangled and dropped in the street you just so happened to find yourself in.

The two of them stared from the alley, not daring to move.

* * *

The boy was stirred awake with the slow nascent of sunlight's rays across the room and onto his face. He woke with an exhale and a dazed look about him and slowly rose.

Clearing his eyes of the daze, he notices the empty sleeping bag. Glancing around the room, he checked to see if his companion had abandoned him. Seeing no signs of anything missing, he dressed and roamed.

The apartment itself came up empty; no dice. Something dawns on him when he changes course for the roof after putting on a jacket from the hanger in the apartment they were in.

A ping of relief dashed through his extremities when he spotted the familiar form on the roof. Standing at the doorway, he looked over at his partner-in-travel. After being given no piece of mind, he walked slowly to the edge of the roof, at which the girl sat, smoking.

A drag. Smoke escapes her lips. "Morning."

"Morning," the boy starts off sullenly, "Everything alright up here?"

A nod. Another drag. They sat in silence, the boy coupling his shoulders for warmth. The permeating snow had already been a thing they, and many others, adjusted to, and when paired with the dulled morning sun in the gray, cloud ridden sky, it served as a reminder; this is as warm as it gets.

A grim reminder, at that.

"What happened last night," the girl asks.

They sit in silence for a moment or two before the boy looks down and swallows hard, as if afraid to say the words.

"Another dream?"

A slow nod turned quick, yet still as weary.

Another drag. She turns to the boy and their eyes connect. Both tired out of their minds, still.

"I-" the boy starts out, exhausted sounding, "I… saw a person... or something that looks like one, last night."

"And you didn't think to tell me."

"They, it, were... or was on a roof... They, _it_ jumped."

After another drag, she rids the cigarette of ash. The free hand of the girl finds the back of her neck and rubs.

The boy's tired look strayed to the horizon. Another dawn, another day, more travel, more ways to lose life and limb.

He gets up from the ledge the two were sat at and heads back. Shortly after her cigarette were finished, she joined him, sitting in silence.

It dawned on the boy what he said earlier; the person that jumped. They found themselves packed up and outside of their building, heading in a general direction.

He froze and looked back up to where he assumed their place of temporary residence and then to the adjacent building. Figuring out where the body should have landed, he went around the corner in a wide arc, to the front of the building, where the body should have been.

Much to his shock, there was not a stain or body to be found.

And much to his relief, his companion was not there to witness it. The boy walked back to the front of the building, continuing to wait for his twin, a storm plucking every picket fence and tree in his mind.

The rifle they.. ahem, _procured_ , from the fine gentleman in the woods had decided to cease and desist on its own accord; its days numbered by the squib load that decided its fate mid heated gunfight that was luckily finished quick after what had happened.

Its wielder was lucky, the girl walked away from the firearm in a daze as the aforementioned and unnoticed squib load stuck in the middle of the barrel, leaving the barrel in a mushroomed state, incapable of accurate fire.

Without the necessary knowledge or material to repair it, it was disposed of in a field-strip state.

The rest of their equipment went somewhat unchanged, rations staying in a somewhat similar situation compared to before due to managing to scavenge some food along the way.

The girl's companion was always against weapons, mostly for that precise reason, even considering the fact that a squib load wasn't precisely often, especially if the gun is taken care of.

With renegade, man-killing looters, that was not the case. Surprise surprise.

Having packed up and abandoned anything unusable, they set out to the I-5, the main highway leading through Portland and, more importantly, Seattle.

The silence was often times mind-numbing. Luckily, they had the occasional run-in with an animal or a person, for once, which kept them on their toes and gave a refreshing change of pace every now and then but even with that, those moments were few and far between.

Then, of course, some people are less friendly than others. This one time, they saw a woman followed by two cats that were, somehow, still unharmed. She was completely insane and _not to mention armed somehow,_ which was, well, an interesting development to say the least.

So that had them running quick.

They once met a merchant who made a living going from settlement to settlement and sold his goods. He was one of very few that still had a running vehicle those days due to the complete collapse.

Its wondrous what a complete and total lack of civilization and control will do to a society in a few years.

But I digress. Where were w- oh, the highway.

The I-5 always saw activity, what with it being massive. Their tracks weren't the only ones, but for all they know, the ones they see now are old still, or maybe there's been so many that anyone can't keep track anymore. That's a thought to keep a person occupied.

Switching between the actual highway and any nearby treeline there was to be had, what little of this current trip had happened was spent in silence, mostly. The boy, still on his toes, seemed like it was best if he was left with his thoughts. The girl had something similar in mind.

The two were quite the odd pair, but being twins and all gives you that connection to one another most people don't have. She read him easily, he read her easily right back, it's kind of like that telepathic thing everyone assumes about twins.

A silence like this wasn't exactly uncommon. The boy had taken their lifestyle when everything was normal far harder than his twin. They spent most of their best years of life jumping from foster to foster. Be it trouble, be it abuse, they found their way around, whether they wanted it or not.

The girl was clinical and straightforward, the more serious of the two, less emotions, more actions. Her deeds were more of a description of her than her words ever truly could be, always one that was more for accuracy of _things_ rather than people. Hence the affinity to weapons.

The boy almost held enough emotion for the both of them. Protective, often to the point of his own demise, he was still serious, yet more trusting of the two, while loyalty and empathy were a given. Brute strength and force amassed alone for the need to protect others was enough to grow a love of fighting and close-combat.

Loyalty and empathy were a given, thus meaning their repercussions were never far behind. The emotions his twin-sister lacked were readily available to any person willing to reciprocate in similar degree. One such person was found before but… No one truly lives happily ever after, now do they?

But alas, one must play the hand he is dealt. They were an odd pair, yet they made the best of it until _someone_ decided to start a greed-fueled nuclear war. That's a topic for another time, though.

The boy was becoming increasingly uneasy with the silence, evident with the way he fiddled around with the bag strung off to his side. The girls eyes hooded, yet aware, kept a watchful eye out.

"What's up with you, all of a sudden," she asks in a questioning, yet hushed tone. Trying to keep their voice down and all that.

The boy blinked quickly a few times before sputtering an answer, "..I- I- Uhm.. It's- It's nothing."

Shutting her eyes, she exhaled nasally, somewhat annoyed yet understanding. She turned with a scratch to her forehead.

"Look, it's obvious it's not nothing. You're not often like this."

Opening his mouth to say something proved pointless as he instead opted on deflating.

A scratch to his neck was almost a queue to his twin's sigh and turn. They continue right after.

Feeling visibly guilty, the boy raised a hand and finger to say something before he's cut off by the sound of a gunshot ringing off around them.

They both instinctively hide behind the nearest cover, the boy ending up in the ditch and the girl at a van off to the left on the highway. After the initial shock of shot goes down, they realize it was far. Straight in front of them, but far, luckily. No doubt another run in with the mercenaries from before.

They wait in silence for a little while longer and hear another one go off. Neither of them flinch this time, neither of them move from their spot this time.

The girl sighed nasally and shook her head while the boy kept his head high, listening closely. They looked at each other and nodded.

The two of them spread about the highway, skipping from cover to cover, inching closer to the source of the shots. Being well-versed in weaponry, the girl could recognize the shots. The unknown sound of a caliber that was too small-sounding to _not_ be a pistol, echoed the air as the wielder of the firearm fired two more shots.

The closer the girl got to the source, the closer the struggling sounded, sprinkled with the occasional grunt or low scream. What the girl saw once her interest piqued and she looked over the wreck was a boy in his early twenties, maybe late teens with chestnut hair, a long coat and a pistol, attempting to fend off a few mutants from the top of a car.

Before the girl had a chance to help or retaliate, the boy was pulled down from the top of the truck with a cry for help and enveloped in a tangle of limbs and mindless groans.

With a sigh and a shut of her eyes, she found her way back into cover, back against the rough surface of the tipped car and slid to the floor, sitting down as the noise of the survivor getting torn apart rang in her ears.

Her companion, who moved towards a similar objective until recently, stood in stunned silence with a horrified expression before he hurried to the same cover and kneeled at his twin's side, hands hovering, eyes dancing.

"You alright," he asked in a hushed but worried voice. A gesture later, the girl got up. Once situated on her feet, she motioned for the two of them to get the hell away.

The sound of clanking metal draws their attention as the gun from the appetizer's hand lands a few feet from them.

The pair of twins stare at each other, then at the gun for a moment, before the sound of struggle dies down. The girl makes a mad dash for the pistol, taking it quickly and running back to her twin.

Hoping not to become the main course, they make it from the scene, keeping silent.

They were fine until the girl brought up the idea of going back, where she's met with a distressed 'What?!'

'He might have had something good; who carries around a pistol," she gestured to the one she picked up, an FN Five-Seven, "like _this_ and not bring anything worthwhile with them?"

No wonder she couldn't recognize it; the Five-Seven has its own specific caliber, kinda rare.

The boy's jaw was clamped tight as he looked at his twin.

An annoyed sigh and a shake of his head later, he mutters precisely how bad this idea is, but they go back anyways.

The mutants have long since moved on, much to their delight.

They find the mangled body of the late teen, his age now undeniably harder to figure out.

A shudder later, the girl is rummaging through his belongings as her twin keeps an eye out. A small box of ammo that fits the caliber of the gun she found, some envelopes, clothes and toiletries later, she stumbles on a small ziplock baggie. With a bemused sigh, she tosses the weed baggie to the side and continues.

What stared back when she did was an envelope, a red mark across it and most of its contents spilling out. Gingerly picking it up, she delved into its contents deeper.

A key ring, with two keys on it and a letter. The letter was formal in format but contents were meant to someone closer, yet it felt _very_ clinical.

It pertained information of some sort of transport of members.

"Maddie, we might not want to stay here for long," her twin called out in a shaky and aware voice.

"Give me a second," the girl mused and continued reading. Transport of members, security, Seattle, experiment…

Making barely any sense of it at the moment, she pockets the letter and turns to leave.

"Hey, Mason," the girl starts, breaking the silence after they walk quite the way from the area of incident.

"Hm?"

"I-... I don't understand what the hell this means."

"Are you still worrying over that letter you found?"

Madison nods with a finger curled under her chin, her other hand holding the same letter.

"I mean… I- What transport, what members? Fuck's the 'Vortex Club'? What do they have to do in Seattle?"

All Mason can do is shrug. With an exasperated sigh, Madison lets her hands fall at her sides.

"There's something about _experiments_ or something like that, also a date."

"What date?"

"July twenty-ninth, two thousand and nine."

Mason squints, trying to remember, "Doesn't ring a bell," to no avail; he chimes.

The girl's shoulders drop and the letter is balled up and thrown to her side.

"Screw this."

They continue most of their trip in silence.

But allow me let you in on a little secret; a tip or a cheat if you will.

July 29th, 2009 is the day the bombs were launched; is the day when _all_ of this started.

* * *

 **Ending Note: I'd just like to thank my first ever beta reader, VengeSim, make sure to check him out!**

 **He's the mastermind behind 'Chemistry', which I really liked, I highly recommend it!**

 **Thanks for the read! 3**


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